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VAIL - In its second concert in Vail for the Bravo Vail Valley Music Festival, The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Yannick Nezet-Seguin, performs Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique," and Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, with soloist Kirill Gerstein.

The performance takes place at 6 p.m. Saturday at Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail.

"To have Kirill return to us this summer with Yannick Nezet-Seguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra for this landmark concerto is a treat for Vail audiences," said Artistic Director Anne-Marie McDermott. "A pianist with Gerstein's eclectic background of jazz comes to this work with eagerness and vitality, breathing new life into this monumental work."

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 has a particularly intriguing story behind its composition. Following the lackluster response to Rachmaninoff's First Symphony, the composer fell into a deep depression. He was sent to consult Dr. Nicolai Dahl, and he chose an unorthodox route for his recovery. Friends and family members knew that Rachmaninoff had promised a piano concerto to people in London, so using the method of hypnosis, Dahl comforted Rachmaninoff and encouraged him to begin writing the work. Rachmaninoff recounted laying drowsily in the doctor's office with mantras of "you will begin to write your concerto ... you will write with great ease ..." repeated to him. The treatment cured Rachmaninoff, and the end result, finished in 1901, was dedicated to the doctor.

After the intermission, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6. will be performed.

"Whether a person is a regular concertgoer, a newcomer to symphonic music or anything in between, no one should miss Tchaikovsky in the hands of The Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick," said Jacqueline Taylor, Bravo's artistic administrator.

The Philadelphia Orchestra is in Vail through July 14, when it concludes its six-concert residency with violinist Joshua Bell playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.

To purchase tickets, call 877-812-5700 or visit www.vailmusic.org. Tickets start at $25 for general lawn admission and range from $68 to $89 for covered pavilion seating. Children 15 and younger receive free lawn admission to all Bravo orchestral concerts at the amphitheater.